Maher Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 any tips on how to play surf rock music? or artists to check out? or equipment, picks , amps etc to use? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Evertime I hear surf and guitar together I always think of DanElectro. Dunno why but I'm sure there's a reason behind it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Danelectro and Sandy Dennis on drums! I don't know either but whenever I hear SURF music, that's what comes to mind! I may be The Safaris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolcat Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Check out anything by Los Straitjackets. They are THE surf/instrumental band out there right now! And of course, Dick Dale, the King of surf guitar (check out his duet with SRV on "Pipeline"). Also pick up some CDs of Link Wray for some instrumentals that'll blow your socks off! As for equipment - anything that rocks with a whole lot of REVERB! I have a vintage '66 Teisco Del Rey "sharkfin" Japanese surf guitar, but my 60's Strat does it the best... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ooten2 Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 I'm no expert on surf, but how about Dick Dale? I think he used Fender guitars and amps. I also read somewhere that he used alot of MiddleEastern melodies as influences. And he certainly used alot of machine gun right hand speed picking. The Ventures, maybe? EDIT: You beat me to the Dick Dale thing, coolcat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tirapop Posted March 24, 2005 Report Share Posted March 24, 2005 Dick Dale rocks! I saw him at Bumbershoot, in Seattle. The audience was mixed, from kids, pierced and tattooed young adults, to people old enough to have seen him back when. That little trumpet solo on "Misirlou", that's Dick. He had a long cable and waded out into the audience. He boasted about melting guitar picks and having his guitar strung with heavy gage "suspension bridge cable". Great showman, not to be missed. Check out Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Man or Astroman?, Laika and the Cosmonauts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolcat Posted March 24, 2005 Report Share Posted March 24, 2005 Check out this surf tune I recorded on my Mac: http://www.geocities.com/~spike67/coney_island.mp3 (Big file - 3.9 mbs) You'll hear the Dick Dale influence on the arpeggios... Let me know what you guys think of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 Came to this thread late...but I couldn't resist making a confession...I really do like surf music...(in moderation, of course)...and here's why... Firstly, I'd like to recommend the bands Slacktone and The Merman as two bands playing surf music that really takes it further...no offence Dick! Instrumental guitar freaks should note that Joe Satriani considers a lot of his tunes "surf songs" and if you ignore the lack of reverb and the modern rock sound, you'll see why. My favorite guitar player is Jeff Beck and you can see a bit of the surf/hot rod style in the way he plays too As for playing surf...reverb's traditional (I prefer an analog delay, myself with the reverb as an effect)...a clean but "loud" sound (listen to Mr "king" Dale to get the idea)...light tremolo use (no dive bombs), this creates that shimmery chorus effect with the echo/reverb (also a classic move is to take chords and bend them in a controlled way down and up a half step)...Fender guitar's are favoured, for good reason (their clean sound, not too much sustain, and a reliable trem), plus they look the part. Danelectro's also featured as they were affordable and suited the style. There really isn't a "surf guitar" as such though...although Dick says that there is only one guitar of choice...the stratocaster. The strat certainly does meet all the requirements and is the ideal choice. For the music...generally it should be descriptive of "surf" culture. Generally the sea, but may include hot rods, gangs, girls, space...(anything really). You should be able to imagine a scene...(think Sleepwalk; Walk, don't run; Pipeline, Wipe Out...etc.). Keep things simple for traditional stuff...surf music was informed by blues country rockabilly and jazz...also music from other cultures (you should be able to hear some of Dicks middle-eastern heritage in songs like Miserlou). But originally it was played by very young guys who didn't know better IMHO. Compositionally...Generally if the tune is in a major key, there's a middle-8 in a minor key...and visa versa. Often your looking at riff based music in a twelve bar blues type of structure (major or minor) with a middle-8. More complex surf will have call and response melodies and still more complex will have a few "scenes" making up a story. Often there will be some kind of sound effect thrown in there too. Dick Dale's trademark muted double picked slide down the low strings with a ton of reverb really does sound like the roar of the wave as it starts to break over you and take you for a ride...or wipes you out! Mainly it's about making noise and having some fun. Very few bands of the Surf Era had #1 hits. In his time Dick Dale's highest was #60 on the charts but his influence is undeniable and the surf sound is heard all over the world and recognised as a "sound" by anyone, young or old! It's heard everyday in movies and advertisements...and has an active underground following. Originally, it really was about playing and dancing and rocking out live and was never really captured on recordings. And there was a lot of showmanship at these gigs that really drew a crowd...these events were the "raves" of their time. So, often surf music is seen as cornballed, but it's as easy or as complicated as the blues, and just as easy or hard to play. It's a style that can lift your spirits or take you to another place. So, I encourage you all to, grab your six stringed plank and dip your toes in...the water's fine! cowabunga, dudes pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolcat Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 Hey - if you live in New York - check out Link Wray this Tuesday May 10th @ BBKings! He was one of the greatest surf-instro guitarists and was considered the "Godfather of Garage" and the inventor of the power chord!!! I heard his song "Rumble" (which can be heard in Pulp Fiction) was banned from radio in the 50's because it was considered sexually suggestive AND IT DIDN'T EVEN HAVE ANY LYRICS!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 (edited) I've got a book here "The golden era of rock instrumentals".... "Legend has it that "Rumble" was born in a Fredercksburg dive, inspired by a barroom brawl that broke out while the band was playing..." The fuzz sound came from poking holes with a pen into the tweater speakers of a premier amp. It was banned on New York City Radio stations and elsewhere for "promoting juvinile delinquency" The controversy only inspired higher record sales. "Rumble" stayed in the top 40 (1958) for ten weeks and has reputedly has sold four million copies to date! Is it in fact surf....hmmm....probably not! But it does carry the spirit of instrumental rock which is often branded as surf pretty well...A fantastic example of a simple tune that really paints a fight scene. Is Duane Eddie's Twang surf? The UK's incredibly successful Shadows? Hendrix considered his tune 'third stone from the sun' a surf tune and credits Dick Dale as a big influence. (one of his tunes ends with the spoken phrase "will we ever here surf music again" after hearing of Dick's serious illness at the time. Basically the surf genre really opened up to include that whole guitar based instrumental style that emerged in the early sixties. They even tried to market blues guitarist, Freddie King (Hideaway {was that him}) as a surf artist in the sixties as he played a lot of instrumental blues tunes. Anyway...great to see Link's still out there...another original! I live down-under... ...plenty of surf...no longer much in the way of surf music. The Atlantics, probably Australia's better surf bands from the sixties has reformed. The whole surf thing though was big at the time but it really was a live phenomenon and bands typically, one hit, or no hit wonders! You really needed a gimmick like the maniacal laugh at the end of wipeout to get played on radio! By the way...the drums are extremely important to the surf sound. Hawaii 5-0 for instance. While there is a simple "surf beat", some of the early surf drummers did their time in school marching bands and you can here some of that work in their snare work. The whole rolling drums allow the guitar to ride over the top and the bass is a low rumble of a current and typically don't predominate. Anyone else dabble in the surf sound? pete Oh, and if your interested there's lot's of stuff on the Web, but THE place to go is Phil Dirt's Reverb Central Edited May 8, 2005 by psw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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